DSW's Shot at Sony Gets Blocked in Court

DSW took a swing at Sony Music and Sony Music Publishing with a declaratory judgment lawsuit, trying to get ahead of potential copyright beef. But a federal judge wasn't having it — and tossed that part of the case out.

The details on what exactly sparked this face-off aren't fully clear from the ruling alone, but the outcome is: DSW's attempt to get the court on record saying they weren't infringing Sony's copyrights didn't land. When you file a declaratory judgment suit, you're basically asking a judge to rule before the other side sues you — a defensive legal move. In this case, the court decided that wasn't the play.

This is a small but real L for DSW's legal team. The shoe company's bet on getting out ahead of potential Sony claims backfired. Whether there's more to this fight down the line remains to be seen, but for now, this particular angle got shut down.

Read the full story at Music Business Worldwide → https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/judge-tosses-shoe-retailer-dsws-preemptive-copyright-suit-against-sony-music/